From Beirut to the Beltway

Jumblatt: Lebanese army will not intervene in case of coup

The Lebanese army would not intervene if the Hizbullah-led "opposition" invaded the government building to overthrow Fouad Siniora's cabinet, Walid Jumblatt told Aljazeera yesterday, quoting a letter he said he received from an army general. "This implies a coup d'etat and a great catastrophy," he said. Jumblatt added that he asked army commander Michel Suleiman not to assume neutrality if riots broke out following a "presidential vacuum".

Jumblatt warned of a coup by Hizbullah, which he said was close to storming the government Serail on January 23rd had it not been to intervention by Arab countries and even Iran, which was concerned that a civil war would hurt its interests in the south. He described Hassan Nasrallah as a tool for a greater project, who cannot detach himself from the Assad regime and from his financial and military interests with Iran.

The Druze leader said he didn't mind being accused of being part of the American project, as long as the objective is to protect Lebanon from the Assad regime and the "Persian hegemony".

Jumblatt said the settlement of the crisis over the presidency should take place in Bkirki, and not Ain El Tineh (Berri's residence), adding that Sfeir has to know how to pick according to the conditions of the Cedar Revolution. Jumblatt said, however, that it was really up to the parliament's majority to select a candidate. He added that he has been lobbying for American and international recognition of a March 14 president elected by a simple majority.

On Suleiman's candidacy, Jumblatt said he told the army commander that he was opposed to amending the constitution, and that if Suleiman wanted a political position, he has to take off the army uniform first and become "a deputy, minister and maybe later a president... but no to the military returning to power".

Jumblatt said he hopes Aoun returns to his former self after his meeting with Hariri in Paris. He added that the former general has become a prisoner of Hizbullah and Syria, and that the meeting between the two (Jumblatt and Aoun) was canceled because Aoun said he could not meet with those who insult his allies.

Assef Shawkat trying to assassinate Hariri, Siniora

Speaking after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Saad Hariri said he received reports of plots to assassinate him and PM Siniora, devised by Assad's military intelligence chief, Assef Shawkat.

The reports come as the French continue to engage the Assad regime in "dialogue", and following a Saturday meeting between Assad's VP Farouq Sharaa and French envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran, during which Cousseran was told to expect a "war of trenches" in Lebanon if a pro-Syrian president is not elected. An-Nahar said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is scheduled to meet his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem this week.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Sfeir is expected to receive a report by 4-member committee representing March 14 and the "opposition". The committee has failed to agree on a consensus candidate, or on anything else for that matter. Sfeir is said to now be considering naming his own candidates. The talks were complicated by Aoun's inability to meet with Jumblatt and Hariri, reportedly due to pressure by Hizbullah. Lebanon Files reported today that the former general may have travelled to Paris to meet with Hariri.

In a separate development, Hizbullah is reportedly boosting the number of its occupation forces in downtown Beirut, 12 days before parliament is scheduled to elect (or not) a president. And it's not to protect the besieged Siniora against an assassination attempt.

Abul Gheit's mystery visit

Shortly before his visit to Lebanon, the pro-Hizbullah paper al-Akhbar published a report claiming Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit is in Lebanon to promote army commander Michel Suleiman as a president for 2-3 years. Al-Akhbar's reporting was pretty elaborate, alleging that Mubarak is pushing for a transitional presidency that would have the blessing of Syria and Hizbullah. 

Abul Gheit, however, spent a good deal of the day denying this report and sending apparent "hands off" messages to Syria and Iran, while assuring everyone that Egypt is not pushing for a constitutional amendment that would allow certain candidates to become presidents. The report in Al-Akhbar had gone as far as suggesting that the Suleiman presidency is also backed by Saudi-Arabia and the US.

Al-Akhbar, infamous for concocting lies, had just published that Aoun was officially named as Nasrallah's candidate, something Aoun denied in an interview with NBN (which the paper reported in the same article).

Unsurprisingly, and contrary to what al-Akhbar is unfathomably spreading, the US does not seem to be in favor of Suleiman becoming a temporary president.  A Suleiman presidency is unacceptable to March 14, and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said yesterday that US diplomacy is in constant contact with "our allies in the March 14 group to see what is acceptable to them and what is not". Rice, in fact, made it clear during a congressional hearing that her country is "working on the basis that there should be no effort to make Lebanon in any way set aside constitutional processes that would lead to a president that the United States of America would consider illegitimate in some fashion." 

As to what Abul Gheit is really bringing to Lebanon, apart from statements in support of the constitution, we will find out the usual way: contradictory leaks published in different newspapers. In the meantime, the Egyptian is publicly saying he is in the country to share the "Egyptian vision", warn against interference, and encourage dialogue. 

Trouble in paradise: Hizbullah and Iran divided

Over the past few weeks, we have heard conflicting statements by Hizbullah officials regarding their preferred presidential candidate. Some in Hizbullah named Michel Aoun, others said Aoun wasn't the only candidate. In a recent speech, Nasrallah described that candidate but failed to give him a name. Pro-Hizbullah al-Akhbar ran a story yesterday claiming Nasrallah told the Maronite patriarch that Hizbullah's candidate was Aoun. However, Hizbullah's second in command Naim Qassem was quoted by the Daily Star as saying, "Hizbullah prefers not to name a presidential candidate at the present time. We will reveal our candidate in due time."

Al-Seyassah argues that this indecisiveness is a result of division in Hizbullah's leadership, which is split into pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian lines.  Hassan Nassrallah leads the pro-Syrian camp and favors army commander Michel Suleiman, while Naim Qassem leads the second and is awaiting clear instructions from Iran. Iran is reportedly weighing the matter against the situation in Iraq and its nuclear file.

And it's not like Iran is speaking with one voice. To quote the Economist, "it is seldom clear precisely who calls the shots in Iran." Their chief nuclear negotiator and head of the national security council, Ali Larijani, who was also handling the Lebanese file with the Saudis, has resigned on Saturday, apparently without his knowledge. Larijani, who is close to Khamenei was quickly replaced by someone close to Ahmadinejad, in what appears to be a power struggle between the supreme leader and the Iranian president. The Europeans tasted this struggle first hand during talks in Rome:

The EU's top diplomat said on Wednesday Iran's new chief nuclear negotiator was upstaged by his predecessor at Rome talks, warning that "multiple players" from Iran could further complicate negotiations with the West.

Javier Solana met Iran's newly appointed chief negotiator Saeed Jalili for the first time on Tuesday. But the European Union foreign policy chief said that former chief negotiator Ali Larijani, also in Rome, appeared to be leading the Iranian team. (Reuters)

Khamenei is not happy with Ahmadinejad's power show. Iran's constitution places executive power in the hands of the supreme leader, something Ahmadinejad is apparently trying to change. How this will affect Lebanon and Hizbullah remains to be seen. One thing is certain. Hizbullah finds itself being asked to commit to a Lebanese decision at a time its foreign-imported political structure forbids it from functioning as a Lebanese political player.

Hizbullah: keep the Lebanese army weak

There should be no doubt that a strong Lebanese army, especially one aided by the US, is not welcomed by Hizbullah. The Iranian-armed "party" survives on claims that its "resistance" is better equipped to fight the enemy than the state's army.

Read Hizbullah's recent threats to the US in that context.

Hizbullah threatened Monday that U.S. troops would be treated as "occupation forces" on Lebanese soil. Hizbullah official Nawaf Mussawi made the threat in a statement to Agence France Presse.

He was commenting on alleged plans by the United States to set up a military base in Lebanon, a charge that has been made by as-Safir newspaper and denied both by the government and Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman.

"It is impossible to accept such a project. American soldiers on Lebanese soil will be considered an occupation force and will be treated as such," Mussawi told AFP.  "Let the Americans take (interpret) this message as they wish." (Naharnet)

Finger-waving Naim Qassem delivered a similar threat:

On Sunday, Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said the creation of U.S. military bases in Lebanon would be considered a "hostile act".

The report of an army base first surfaced on Debka, and was propagated by Iranian media, before landing in As-Safir. Denials by the Lebanese army, the US ambassador to Lebanon and the Lebanese cabinet did not stop Hizbullah from issuing the above threats. "Let them interpret this as they wish" means the Iranian-created party would not hesitate to kill American soldiers as they or their pals did in 1983.  It remains to be seen whether Hizbullah's threat also applies to visiting US officials working with the Lebanese army on training missions.

Hizbullah's religious ally, Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, sent a fax to AP laying down the "choice" before the Lebanese:

"We warn that the U.S. administration is offering the Lebanese a choice either to accept their country being turned into a (U.S.) military, security and political base, or to expect a new strife," Fadlallah said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press.

He said the Lebanese army was aware of attempts to link U.S. military aid to Lebanon to confronting the guerrilla group and was determined in "rejecting strife and rejecting any restrictions on its armament."

"The Lebanese, who have seen the American failure in Iraq and felt the American involvement with Israel in last year's war against Lebanon ... must be aware that what the administration of President Bush is aiming at is something else other than supporting the Lebanese army," Fadlallah said.

"It (U.S. Administration) is working to make Lebanon a new base for chaos and another position for NATO in order to exert pressure on regional and international powers which disobeyed its decisions and policies," the cleric added in a clear reference to Iran and Syria.

Unlike their Iranian counterparts, US defense officials have not been smuggling weapons or secretly building military structures in downtown Beirut. They also have not been shy about their feeling towards the Iranian-armed militia. They very well may be seeking to turn Lebanon into a strategic ally in the region. However, the rejection of this partnership is not based on a desire for an independent Lebanon. What Hizbullah wants is not a country free of American hegemony-- that is just a cover for their existential battle against March 14. They want an Iranian satellite state with a weak army and fertile ground for terrorists and their fixers.

For that, the real target of these threats is not just US-Lebanese military co-operation, but also any prospects of the Lebanese army gaining strength and a clear sense of purpose, which would come at the expense of the Iranian-funded militia. Hizbullah, after all, is used to the Syrian-run army of ushers, whose job was to clean beaches, put out forest fires, and turn a blind eye to arms smuggling and Syrian-sponsored terrorist attacks.

Perhaps Army Commander General Michel Suleiman, who denied the As-Safir report in a statement, can now pause and ponder about how the militia that grew under his blind eye is unashamedly calling him a liar and threatening the livelihood of his forces, and those of a supposedly friendly state.

Who let the evil genie out?

Not sure who is responsible for this work of art, but here it is anyway for your enjoyment, as found on the March 14 website.

Jumblatt: Hizbullah involved in assassinations

(/satire off)

In an interview with Wolf Blitzer on Sunday, Jumblatt said Hizbullah was involved in the assassinations of March 14 leaders, and reiterated that Lebanon cannot be stable as long as Bashar Assad feels secure. Below are a few highlights, courtesy of Ya Libnan. 

"It is impossible to have good security in Lebanon, we are hiding in our rooms…"

When asked "who is behind these assassinations", Jumblatt responded "Syria and its allies Hezbollah. I have no doubt about it. The tribunal will give its verdict next year, but until next year it is quite a long time, anything can happen."

"As long as Bashar al-Assad in Syria feels secure, as long as there are no military or economic sanctions against him, he will just go along in Lebanon killing us one by one. As long as we have this tyrant, this butcher in Damascus alive, we will never have a stable democracy in Lebanon"

"Our opponents have a private army in Lebanon, private security, they have weapons provided by the Syrian regime and Tehran, while we have international solutions, we are not asking for military help, we are not asking for military bases, they already have military bases in Lebanon - an Iranian and Syrian military base, and they are behind the assassinations."

"We've got to stay alive, survive the next few weeks, and if we are still alive and still the majority, we can elect one of us that will abide by international law, and also abide by the international tribunal of justice, that will one day bring the murders, bring Bashar al-Assad to trial."

"The Syrians don't need to have their military or intelligence in Lebanon as long as they have their unofficial brigade in Lebanon - Hezbollah. This alliance between Iran, Syria and Lebanon (Hezbollah) has been an indirect occupation."

Will Jumblatt and March 14 stay alive? Will Lebanon survive the international laxity in effectively and seriously dealing with the Assad regime? Or will we see more insipid attempts by EU ministers to "unite" March 14 politicians with their counterparts in the pro-assassinations camp? And on the domestic front, can the Maronites, the ones that count anyway, find their role in steering the country away from the Iranian-Syrian swamp?   

American Eagle plot to nest in Lebanon unveiled

Freedom-embracing Iranian and pro-Syrian media have uncovered a diabolical plot to build a US army base in northern Lebanon under the despicable cover of training the Lebanese military. This plot, it was revealed, was openly discussed by failed American freedom spreaders during meetings with Lebanese military and illegal government officials. Thinking Lebanon could one day become a modern nation with an independent military, the Americans apparently conditioned their implementation of this secret plan on guarantees US military aid to Lebanon would not fall into the "wrong" hands, such as Iranian-assisted militias or factions in the army loyal to a foreign country. Of particular concern to the Americans is a clause in the army's "creed" putting the interests of Syria above Lebanon's, and which enables the military to always shoot at Israeli invaders, even if they're dressed in 7th century attire made in Damascus.

The Americans simply do not understand the depth of Lebanese-Syrian relations, specifically how Lebanese and Syrians are one people divided by artificial though unmarked borders and friendly pro-Syrian military bases housing the region's armed homeless. The distinctive bond that ties the average Syrian to his Lebanese counterpart is such that no questions need to be asked when the Syrian army builds bases, invades to protect Lebanon's interests, kills agents of Zion Land, and ship arms across the "border" to patriotic people committed to the Great Cause. As usual, the Americans proved to be stupid  to go through official channels, place conditions on military collaboration and allow freedom-loving Iranian and Syrian media to infiltrate their secret planning department. Busted!

What is next on the agenda of the evil world power? Sending Special Forces to occupy downtown Beirut and lay siege to the prime minister's office until he declares Lebanon a county of Michigan? Deploying hundreds of thousands of brainwashed US teenagers to promote sexual promiscuity and homosexuality in the land of frontal chastity? Thank Baal Lebanon is deporting the devout wives and children of Fatah al-Islam back to Syria before the bald eagle bewitches them into abominable servitude and tight clothing. Here's hoping they find and recognize their husbands.

Update. Denial, denial.

Jumblatt frolics with Satan

Following in father-killer Saad Hariri's footsteps, Walid Jumblatt unashamedly shook hands with the sons of the Great Satan today, proving that March 14 is but a conduit for a diabolical conspiracy to tickle peace-loving militias and terrorism-dabbling dictators. Thank God Michel Aoun took up Syrian bootlicking before the spirit of March 14 got possessed by the devil.

Many assassinations later, surviving members of the wicked March 14 movement appear incorrigible. They insist on the right to freely pick their negotiators with the deputies of God's deputies. Freedom is abominable. God's turbaned deputies reserve the right to pick presidents and negotiators on both sides of the Lebanese hell. 

On licking boots

Berri's former militia released a statement describing US congressman Gary Ackerman as a "bootlicker for the Zionist lobby and his masters in the Israeli entity to gain funding and secure his election as a representative of the worst racism."

Ackerman's racist crime is sponsoring a resolution condemning Syria and Iran's Interference in Lebanon.

The resolution, which was cosponsored by two Lebanese-American Members of Congress, Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Charles Boustany (R-LA), as well as House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA), also declared Lebanon's sovereignty and independence in the national security interests of the United States, and called on the President to use "all peaceful means at the disposal of the United States" to help safeguard Lebanon’s future. 

Such evil endorsement of Lebanese sovereignty was explained by Ackerman, who was first to employ the term "bootlicking".

Lebanon is in grave peril. Lebanon’s independence and sovereignty is under attack by Syria and Iran, and their bootlicking Lebanese proxies, Hezbollah, Amal and the Aounist bloc. Extralegally demanding control of the presidency, and threatening civil war, this coalition of the wicked and the selfish have again brought chaos, violence and terror to Lebanon.

Earlier in the day, Ackerman and over 379 of his colleagues were caught red handed attending a session at the House of Representatives, despite repeated threats by the Republican minority to form a second government and start a civil war if an agreement is not reached on the identity of the next US president.